Six community members and two county councillors will “engage with stakeholders” to revitalize the lake and repair the dam.
County councillors last night were expected to confirm the group’s creation, which was tentatively approved at a county committee meeting last Tuesday.
Citizen members will include two members from the Port Dover Lions Club, two members of the Waterfront Preservation Association, one representative of the local fishing industry and one member of the Port Dover Yacht Club.
Port Dover Coun. Amy Martin and Charlotteville Coun. Chris Van Paassen will represent county council.
The group is officially directed to “create a road map and the timeline” to repair Misner Dam and revitalize Silver Lake.
Close to 50 Port Dover residents watched from the gallery last Tuesday as councillors discussed the next chapter of Norfolk’s 10-year involvement with the dam and lake.
Many left the meeting disappointed that council did not move directly to repair the dam, a project estimated at more than $2 million.
But there’s no point repairing the dam if Silver Lake cannot be dredged and redeveloped into a beauty spot, Mayor Kristal Chopp repeatedly said.
“If we repair the dam and there are no approvals (from the provincial government to dredge Silver Lake), what did we just spend $2 million on,” Mayor Chopp asked last Tuesday’s meeting.
In an interview, Mayor Chopp said the task force’s first job will be to sound out the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Natural Resources for approvals to dredge Silver Lake.
Second, the group will get estimates of the cost of dredging and figure out if it’s realistic to think fundraising could pay the bill.
The third job will be to look at alternatives to the $2-million repair plan developed under the former council led by Mayor Charlie Luke.

For more on Misner Dam, see the February 26th issue of Port Dover Maple Leaf